


Goodbye

by whendidthisshowbecomemylife



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I actually cried writing this, I'm Sorry, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-10
Updated: 2014-06-10
Packaged: 2018-02-04 03:51:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1764547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whendidthisshowbecomemylife/pseuds/whendidthisshowbecomemylife
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Maybe I deserve this."</p>
<p>"That's a fucking lie, Bertl!" he tried to growl, but his voice broke as fresh tears leaked out, "You deserve nothing but the best and that's exactly what you'll get, you hear?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Goodbye

Reiner dragged the body through the doorway of an abandoned house, slamming the door shut behind him. 

"I'm sorry, Bertl," he croaked, pulling his friend by his torso again, in response to the pained groans and exhausted yelps of fear and pain coming from the injured boy. Finally, they settled against the wall under the window, with a piece of wood covering up most of the glass in case a Titan were to peek inside. Reiner sat next to his friend and pulled his jacket off.

"I'm gonna wrap this around your leg, okay buddy? It's going to hurt, but I need to stop the blood loss a little so I can have time to get you out of here!" Reiner whispered, his voice shaking almost as much as his hands, his eyes looking anywhere but his partner's face, as if not looking would allow him to pretend it was someone else bleeding out -anyone, anyone but his best friend. 

He bound Bertholdt's leg, but only after he'd had to gag his friend to muffle his screaming. They were both crying now - Bertholdt in pain, and Reiner because he could finally see how dire the situation was. The bone was sticking out of his friend's calf and the puddle of blood surrounding them was bound to attract Titans. Not to mention the gash on Bertl's forehead that had stained half his face scarlet, as if to symbolize that he was already halfway gone. He was too weak to lift his arms enough to take the gag (a piece of old cloth) out of his own mouth and his eyes were half closed. His breaths were shallow and far too rare, but he still managed to whisper, "Maybe I deserve this."

The blonde let out a gasp, but it turned into an agonizing sob halfway through. He shifted so he was sitting on his knees and gently, so as not to hurt his best friend, took the taller boy's face in his hands and tilted it to the side slightly so Bertholdt could look at him. "That's a fucking lie, Bertl!" he tried to growl, but his voice broke as fresh tears leaked out, "You deserve nothing but the best and that's exactly what you'll get, you hear?"

"I broke the Wall, Reiner... Twice... And now one of the Titans I let in will be the end of me..." the brunette breathed. His usually olive skin was now a light grey and his skin was slowly turning transparent. His cheeks were terribly cold under Reiner's palms. The blonde rested his forehead against the other's.

"Listen, Bertl," he said softly, his voice having calmed down slightly, "I don't know what I'm gonna do... But I'm not leaving here without you, you hear? So either we die together, or I leave with you and I'll take you home!" Bertholdt's eyes widened a little as he sucked in a heavy breath. "Reiner!" he whined, tears resuming their journey down his fading cheeks, "Reiner, you need to break the Gate! Then you can go home!"

His breaths became raspy and he began to shift in a feeble attempt to push his friend away, chase him out towards the Gate, his strength a ghost of the colossus it used to be. Reiner gripped his shoulders tightly and settled him back with no effort at all. Bertholdt's head tipped back against the wall, his energy drained from the movement. His breathing grew slower still. The muscular blonde wiped the sweaty bloody bangs out of his partner's face and smiled weakly at him. "It's not home without you, buddy. So if you die, I die. And if you live, I'll take you home and.. and I'll marry you, okay Bertl? Then we can always be together."

The brunette forced himself to lift his head just slightly to look at Reiner, who was smiling sweetly even though tear after tear spilled over his cheekbones. He looked calm. He looked genuinely happy to be with his best friend, even if it was to die. Bertholdt smiled back, although he was not sure if the gesture was strong enough to be visible at all, and slowly, shakily he raised his right hand (his left having gone completely numb) to settle it at the back of Reiner's neck. He locked gaze with the shorter boy, his first and last caretaker. "I can't feel my legs, Rei... I'm not leaving here." A mixture of tears and blood stained the collar of his shirt a soft pink. 

"Then I'm not, either, Bertl."

They sat in silence for a while, Reiner waiting for Bertholdt's every next breath, with his own tears slowly cleaning his uniform. His only regret was that his friend was in pain - he couldn't imagine a better way to die than by Bertl's side. 

"Hey, Bert?"

"Mmm.."

"Marry me now?" 

Bertholdt let out a huff of breath, which Reiner barely caught. The blonde turned to look his friend in the eye again, and noticed that the boy was shaking slightly with sobs, but he was smiling just that tiny bit his waning strength allowed. He stroked his injured friend's face and shushed him so he wouldn't exhaust himself. Bertholdt nodded, but his eyes were barely cracked open now.

"D-do you, Bertholdt Fubar, take me to be your lawfully wedded husband?" the blonde stuttered and half-whined, knowing he had mere seconds, as his face scrunched up painfully and the breath was squeezed out of him by his tightening heart. 

A breath.

"I do... Do you.."

"I do, Bertl!" the boy howled, leaning in to press his quivering lips against the other's, relieved to feel them pucker a little, a sign that his friend lived long enough to make him a widower. 

The hand slipped off his neck.

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry, I can't believe I killed my favourite character oh god Reiner forgive me
> 
> To anyone who's curious, Reiner commits suicide right after but I couldn't bring myself to write it in


End file.
